Harry Kane strikes twice as England make history against Albania

The result also marked England's eighth straight victory in head-to-head meetings against Albania.

Thomas Tuchel made seven changes from the 5-0 victory over Serbia in September, but England still controlled the opening stages despite struggling to find spaces against Albania's organised defence. Jarrod Bowen came closest in the first half, latching onto a move involving Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham before seeing his low shot saved by Thomas Strakosha. Albania grew in confidence as the half wore on, with their sell-out crowd sensing vulnerability in England's much-changed backline, including debutant Jarell Quansah at right-back.

Albania entered the match having conceded only three goals in their previous seven qualifiers, and their 4-5-1 setup frustrated England for long spells. Possession hovered around 70 percent for the visitors, but clear chances were scarce until the second half.

England's clean-sheet run nearly ended early after the restart. Arber Hoxha cut inside and tested Dean Henderson with a low shot, before the Albania winger spurned a golden opportunity moments later. Following a loose pass from Dan Burn, Nedim Bajrami crossed from the right and Hoxha fired wastefully straight at the goalkeeper from close range.

Tuchel's side responded with greater intensity. Bellingham picked out Eberechi Eze for a low shot that Strakosha parried, while Bellingham himself snatched at a loose ball from a set piece. Around the hour mark, Tuchel introduced Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford from the bench, shifting to a 4-1-4-1 with Foden alongside Bellingham in central attacking midfield.

The substitutes injected fresh energy. Nico O'Reilly released Saka with a clever flick, only for the winger to hesitate and look for Kane rather than shoot; Saka also dragged an earlier effort too close to Strakosha. England finally broke through in the 74th minute. Saka swung in a corner that flicked off Albania's left-back Naser Aliji, allowing Kane to swivel and poke home from point-blank range.

Eight minutes later, Kane struck again for his eighth goal of Group K. Rashford whipped in a superb cross from the left, and the England captain rose to plant a firm header into the far corner beyond Strakosha. The Bayern Munich striker's brace took him to 78 international goals in 112 appearances, surpassing Pele's long-standing record of 77, while moving him 25 clear of Wayne Rooney at the top of England's all-time scoring charts.

England will now travel to North America on an unprecedented run of 11 straight competitive victories, having become the first European side to win at least six World Cup qualifiers in a single campaign without conceding.

Tuchel hailed his captain after the match. “This is the cherry on top,” the German said. “The investment from Harry in these matches is outstanding. He is so invested in everything we do. He's in a mindset and physical condition at the highest level, and he produces goal after goal for us. The way he works, tracks back and finds solutions in attack is outstanding.”

Kane, who scored his first for England against Lithuania in 2015, also remains just 14 caps short of Peter Shilton's all-time appearance record. Having become the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga goals earlier this year, the 32-year-old continues to redefine goalscoring standards for club and country.